After the end of his partnership with Aleksandr Zverev, the 2003 French Open men's singles champion and former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero soon found a new disciple, Carlos Alcaraz.
Today, the teenager born on May 5, 2003 is regarded as the most promising Spanish men's player after Raphael Nadal, and most of the Iberian Peninsula is looking forward to him taking over the mantle of the 20-time Grand Slam champion and letting the flag of Spanish tennis continue to fly in Roland Garros and the entire international tennis world.
Judging from his performances in the last two years, especially this season, Alcaraz is indeed following the script that the public has written for him.
At the 2021 French Open, he beat compatriot Sabata Mirales 3-1 in the first round to become the youngest player to win the main tournament in Roland Garros since 2005's Novak Djokovic (18 years and 2 days) in 26 days.
He is also the youngest Spanish player to win the French Open for the first time since the Open era – his predecessor and role model Nadal was nearly 19 when he won his first victory in 2005. However, the latter started with the first win and won a winning streak, and finally lifted the "Musketeers Cup" of that year.
Alcalas won the main spot through the qualifiers, having beaten Lucas Lacco, Andrea Pellegrino and Pressure Sandro Tabilo.
"I'm very happy, it's the first time in my career that I've been in Roland Garros' regular draw and it's a great feeling. I'm very comfortable with the pitch and can't wait to play against the next round. ”
He said the good play in Paris came from his victory at the Oeiras Challenge two weeks ago, his fourth ATP Challenge title.
With this championship, he also ranked in the top 100 of ATP at the age of 18 and 19 days, becoming the fifth youngest "TOP100" since the establishment of the ATP points system. He was preceded by Nadal, 16 years and 10 months old, Richard Gasquet at 17 years and 3 months, Borna Ciurić at 17 years and 11 months, and Juan Martin del Potro, 18 years and 15 days old.
With the challenge winner and 94th world rankings, Alcaraz came to Paris. He said that although the Grand Slam is a five-set three-win and at-the-TOP event is a three-set two-win, he has enough confidence to meet the challenge.
"I'm going to be ready to play such a big game full of tradition and testing. I don't know if anyone thinks I'm a good cop when I play in the qualifiers, and I don't know what other players will think of me, but all I have to do is go ahead and play my full potential. ”
"From the past to the present, what I'm most used to doing is focusing on myself and improving a little bit after every game, win or lose. I know what I'm good at and I know that my weakness is that I'm not mentally stable enough, but I think I'm showing a better attitude and fighting spirit than I've ever been, which is a big reason why I've been able to play in the last few games. ”
"Focused and motivated, I want to go further down this path and grow faster."
"Focused and motivated", this is also the first impression that Alcaraz gave Ferrero.
At that time, the former world number one was looking for a "future star" for Spanish tennis, and the teenager from Murcia immediately attracted him. They began working together in 2018 and in 2020 Alcaraz won 3 ATP Challenge titles.
"I think the cooperation between me and Carlos is unreserved, he is like me and I am to him." When the disciple won his first ATP Challenge in Trieste, Italy, Ferrero said in an interview: "I love the way he plays and I feel motivated to have the opportunity to work with such a young player. ”
"Our career trajectories at this age group are a bit similar, all at the challenge level, trying to jump to a higher stage. He's already starting to play on the tour and he's getting more and more experienced, which is a very good phenomenon. If my career is still a bit of an achievement, then I believe that he will do better than me. ”
In addition to having fellow celebrities as coaches, Alcaraz also received the "personal guidance" of another celebrity on the field in the 2021 season.
At the ATP Masters in Madrid in May, he met Nadal on his birthday – the man all over Spain wanted him to be.
"A clash of generations," local media rushed to the Magic Box Stadium and eagerly quoted Ferrero and then wrote such headlines.
In the end, Nadal swept the opponent 6-1, 6-2, giving the youngster a memorable "birthday gift".
"Seriously, I'm a little nervous. This game also made me see the gap between myself and him, and I am very happy to learn from the best players in the world on my birthday. Although we didn't speak before the game, he said 'Happy Birthday' to me after the game and told me to keep going and keep working hard. ”
The juniors are humble enough, and the seniors are also very proactive.
"He's a very good young man, he has a very high level of tennis from the moment, I believe he will achieve even more in the near future and wish him all the best."
Speaking about the 18-year-old Alcaraz, Nadal said: "Also, as a Spanish player and a Spanish fan, I would like to see more players like him, and it's really good to have him. ”